OTTUMWA — Every once in awhile, Emma Ryder like to remind everyone she's got range.
The Ottumwa freshman showcased that range with her final shot on Tuesday night against Oskaloosa. Ryder took a pass from Augusta Warren and, from several feet outside the 3-point arc, put up a shot that splashed right through the net.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"I always want to try to get one off in every game," Ryder said. "I work on 3-point shooting a lot. I had a feeling it might be a little off, but the second it went in, it boosted my confidence a lot and made me feel a lot better."
Ryder's 3-pointer helped close out Ottumwa's eighth straight win. Despite playing short-handed without starting junior Alli Goedken coming off a tough road win at Burlington just 24 hours earlier, the Bulldogs used another stellar defensive effort to put away a 58-21 win over the Indians.
"Alli had a rough one all day," Ottumwa head girls basketball coach Kyle Creamer said of Goedken, who woke up dealing with an illness that ultimately prevented her from being available for Tuesday's game. "She tried to give a go and just couldn't do it this morning, so we knew pretty early that she wasn't going to be able to play.
"It took us awhile to get adjusted without here. We haven't had to play without her on the court. She's always just kind of ran the show. It took about three or four minutes for our girls to kind of figure out what to do and where to go. Everybody was just a little out of sync without her."
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementEven while Ottumwa was figuring out on the offensive end, the Bulldogs kept Oskaloosa from taking advantage. The Indians held the Indians without a point for over six minutes forcing a 10-second backcourt violation, a five-second inbounding violation and the first of two shot clock violations during the contest.
"We do what we always do. We pressure the guards and we rely on the length behind them," Creamer said. "If a guard gets beat, they've got Emma and Blake (Goldsmith) waiting at the rim."
Both Ryder and Goldsmith each scored 13 points for the Bulldogs. Ryder collected three of Ottumwa's four blocks while Goldsmith, coming off a 15-rebound performance against Burlington on Monday, posted a second straight double-double by grabbing 11 more rebounds against Oskaloosa.
"I was definitely ready to go. I was really excited and I wanted to play hard," Goldsmith said. "The Burlington game definitely gave me some confidence. That was a tough game going into it. We didn't know how they'd attack, but once we got going, it definitely got a lot better."
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOttumwa's successful adjustments continued on Tuesday as the Bulldogs put up 21 points in the second quarter opening a 31-9 halftime lead. Hayden Keith scored 17 of her game-high 19 points in the first half, including 14 points in the second quarter, while matching Goldsmith and Ryder with a team-leading three steals.
"It took awhile to get going because Alli's such a big part of getting us going on offense," Keith said. "We rely on her a lot, so I think a lot of us had to step up."
Porah Cole led Oskaloosa with 15 points, eight rebounds and four steals in the contest. The Indians managed just eight made field goals and were forced into 27 turnovers by the Bulldogs.
Oskaloosa (3-8) returns to Little Hawkeye Conference play on Friday at third-ranked (4A) Norwalk on Friday while Ottumwa (8-2) heads to Mason City for an Iowa Alliance Conference south division contest. Oskaloosa will head to Washington on Saturday for a non-conference contest to close out a three-game week.
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